Ion Antonescu

Ion Antonescu (15 June 1882-1 June 1946) was Conducator of Romania from 6 September 1940 to 23 August 1944, succeeding Ion Gigurtu as Prime Minister and preceding Constantin Sanatescu. A fascist, Antonescu allied with Adolf Hitler and the Axis Powers, and he led Romania during World War II. He was executed for treason after the war.

Biography
Ion Antonescu was born on 15 June 1882 in Pitesi, Arges County, Romania. He was born into an upper-middle class family, and he joined the Romanian Army; he took part in the quelling of the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, the Second Balkan War, and World War I. Antonescu served as Chief of the General Staff Constantin Prezan's chief-of-staff, and he was loyal to the ruling House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and all of its scions until Prince Carol (the future Carol II of Romania) deserted his army post to elope with commoner Zizi Lambrino. in 1918. Antonescu served as a military attache to France and later Chief-of-Staff of the Romanian Army during the Interbellum period, but in 1940 he was arrested by King Carol after protesting his inaction after Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were annexed by the Soviet Union. After the fall of France discredited the pro-France government of Romania, Antonescu rose to power as Prime Minister, and he engineered Carol's resignation and the rise of Michael I of Romania to the throne as his puppet. Antonescu then proclaimed himself Conducator, a dictatorial position that allowed him to crush the fascist Iron Guard and ally with Nazi Germany to make Romania stronger. Antonescu aligned with the Axis Powers when Fuhrer Adolf Hitler sent troops to occupy the country, and Romania sent forces to assist the Germans in their invasions of Yugoslavia and Russia. The lack of training, insufficient armor, and inferior arms of the Romanian Army led to Romania suffering heavy losses on the Eastern Front, including the Battle of Stalingrad on 23 August-3 February 1942.

In March 1944, the Soviet Union began its offensive over the Dniester River and Bug River into Romania; Antonescu was swayed to remain on Hitler's sides with promises of keeping Northern Transylvania if the Axis emerged victorious in the war. Romanian forces under unified German-Romanian command (with Johannes Friessner as overall commander) surrendered at the first sight of Red Army forces, angering Hitler. On 5 August 1944 Antonescu met Hitler in Rastenburg, West Prussia, where Hitler accused the Romanian people of betraying the Axis Powers, and Antonescu gave a vague response when Hitler asked him if Romania would continue fighting in the war. On 23 August, Michael I led a coup against Antonescu, and the dictator was imprisoned for treason. Blamed for the 1941 Odessa massacre, other war crimes, and treason, Antonescu was executed by firing squad in 1946 by the new communist government of Romania.